I wouldn’t have picked “E.T.” as a likely hit single off of Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream, but this week, the song dethroned Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Ending Gaga’s six-week reign, Perry became the first solo female artist to score four #1s from a single album since Mariah Carey’s 1990 debut. Perry’s feat shows you how much I can predict these things, though I must pause to add an asterisk to her achievement, since the single version of “E.T.” featuring Kanye West technically doesn’t appear on Teenage Dream.

Following a stop-gap lyrics video for “E.T.,” today Perry premiered the song’s big-budget sci-fi extravanganza, directed by Floria Sigismondi. An alien love affair set partially in space and partially in a techno-trash wasteland reminiscent of WALL-E, it’s a visually stunning piece. Nothing shoots out of Mrs. Russell Brand’s breasts this time, but the gorgeous costumes and makeup (looks that bring Björk to mind) provide lots of eye candy.

Purchase Katy Perry feat. Kanye West – “E.T.” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.